A young parishioner enjoys carne guisada meal with his family in the church hall after ceremonies.

Named after a once popular song, Ben Bolt is just off Highway 281 seven miles south of Alice. It got its name from the first line of the song "Don't you remember sweet Alice, Ben Bolt?"

The town's developer, L. B. Collins, thought the connection was a good thing as Alice was named for Alice Kleberg (of the King Ranch family.) The year was 1904 and Ben Bolt was hardly more than a hamlet of a few souls.

The railroad arrived in 1914 bringing growth and opportunity. By 1927 it had grown sufficiently to open a small frame church as a mission for the Catholic Spanish speaking community.

The population never reached more than 150, in 2000 it was 110. That is when Bishop Edmond Carmody arrived at St. Peter Mission.

"The first time I visited the church was in 2000, I became aware there was only one Mass and that was at 7:00 a.m. I knew it must be very hard on the people to get to the one Mass, which was so early. We needed to have more Masses, we also needed a rectory for a resident priest," he recounted to the people who had gathered for the February 13 Mass and blessing of their new office building, they had worked so hard to get.

After the Mass, Father Cyraic John Valachanath, the priest-in-charge, began his remarks by saying, "Where there is a will, there's a way! We have a very strong will and the strongest support of our bishop. Thank you Bishop Carmody. Because of your encouragement, help and support we now have our church, a rectory, a parish hall and an office building. "

He also thanked those who had actually done work on the building, the parish organizations that had helped and the parishioners in general for their support over the years.

Today the parish campus at Ben Bolt consists of a large brick church, a modern parish hall, a rectory, built three years ago and now the new office and classroom building. "With it," said Fr. Cyraic, "we now have everything we need."

The Ben Bolt mission serves approximately 120 families with 70 children enrolled in the religious education programs. There are two Sunday Masses, a Saturday Mass and weekday Masses Tuesday through Friday. Parish organizations include a Knights of Columbus Council, an Altar Society, and a Choir.

The new facility contains a large classroom for youth activities and meetings. The parishioners come from Ben Bolt proper and Green Acres a nearby development off Highway 281.

Looking at the bigger pictures, it stands as testimony to the positive influence of the church in the rural communities that make up the south Texas landscape.

Together with the railroads, hard work of the people and the support of the church these hamlets have grown all over the 12 counties of the diocese. Vibrant parishes that serve the spiritual and social needs of the community have developed, as Bishop Carmody would say, "with the love of our Lord Jesus."